The precise date for Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro is far from clear. In the past year and-a-half various politicians, economists and bankers have made their prognoses, most of them pointing to the period between 2012 and 2014. The debate on whether Bulgaria’s economy will be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the euro has intensified recently because of rising prices of oil and food products, inflation and the ‘battle’ between the ‘weak’ dollar and the ‘strong’ euro.
In light of all this Bulgarians already have ideas for a motif for the country’s euro coin.
The final decision rests with the Bulgarian National Bank, but the people have already spoken.
The campaign
A campaign, launched in July 2007 on the infobulgaria.info website of Bulgarian Association for Business and Tourist Information, in tandem with Bulgarian media, had the task of selecting Bulgaria’s national symbols.
Nominations were invited until August 31 2007. The next three stages involved short-listing nominees. People could choose from several categories, sending in a sms or voting on-line.
In the natural sites category people had to choose from the Stara Planina mountain; the Edelweiss flower; mineral springs; the Seven Rila Lakes and the rock formations known as the Wondrous Bridges in the Rhodope Mountains.
In the cultural and historic heritage category the list comprised Bulgarian folklore, Tsarevets fortress in Veliko Turnovo, the Cyrillic alphabet, the Madara Horseman and the Rila Monastery.
The food and drinks category featured Banitsa, Mavrud wine, yoghurt, traditional white bread and Shopska salad.
In addition, the campaign searched for the main symbol on Bulgarian euro coins to raise the country’s image abroad.
More than a million people sent their vote for this symbol alone before June 29. Then, during a live joint transmission with the National Museum of History, Bulgarian National Television, in the presence of President Georgi Purvanov, announced that the winner was the Madara Horseman.
The Madara Horseman defeated four strong contenders: The Bulgaria rose and rose oil, the Tsarevets medieval fortress, the Cyrillic alphabet and the Rila Monastery.
The winner
Of the 1058 473 people who voted, the Madara Horseman won by 25.44 per cent. Second was the Cyrillic alphabet with 21.96 per cent, followed by the Tsarevets fortress with 15.03 per cent, the Bulgaria rose oil and rose with 10.16 per cent. Last was the Rila Monastery with 8.95 per cent.
BNT cameras showed hundreds of people celebrating underneath the early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara plateau east of the town of Shoumen near the village of Madara in north-eastern Bulgaria.
Of all the nominees, the horseman is the most mysterious one, partially explaining its victory. Travel and history guides will tell you that the relief depicts a 23m-high horseman. The rider faces to the right, thrusting a spear into a lion lying at his horse’s feet. An eagle flies in front of the horseman and a dog runs after him. The scene symbolically depicts a military triumph, hence its majestic look.
The mystery comes from the fact that scientists are still uncertain when exactly it was carved into the rock, why and by whom. Most theories agree that it predates the adoption of Christian faith by Bulgarians in 865-866 and was most probably made during the reign of Bulgaria’s Khan Tervel (700-721). The Bulgarians who came to the Balkan peninsula in the 670s from Asia were known as nomads who lived and died on horse back. Hence, scientists assume that the Madara Horseman depicts a Bulgarian ruler, most probably Tervel himself. Whether true or false, the horseman has long received world recognition by being on UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 1979.
Another reason for the horseman’s success could be that the other symbols have been used in many publicity campaigns and have lost their original appeal. The horseman, on the other hand, has been left untouched by advertising and experts.
